Conventional traction gear presently in use employ an attachment means consisting of screwing the traction gear into the mated receiving receptacle in the bottom of the footwear. Using this screw-type attachment method is especially laborious when one takes into account that a typical golf shoe, for instance, has eleven cleats; as a result, replacing the cleats on a pair of golf shoes entails unscrewing twenty-two cleats and screwing on twenty-two cleats, where each act of unscrewing or screwing entails several turns, typically two and one-half times, for each cleat.
An example of a typical prior-art cleat is in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,366 (hereinafter the '366 cleat), which patent is incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes a cleat which includes a metal stud infrastructure at the core of the cleat, the infrastructure having a vertical axis and two ends, a screw portion at a first end for engagement with a receptacle within a shoe, a ground end for tractive engagement with the ground, and a broad flange between the screw and head portions and extending radially outward from the vertical axis; a plastic skirt is molded directly upon the flange portion to form a unitary reinforced radial support member of the cleat. Installation of the '366 cleat consists of screwing it into a mated receptacle in the bottom of athletic footwear.
Although some prior-art references show cleat-attachment systems that require less than a full turn, or they require a snap-on arrangement to lock the cleat in place, it appears none of these systems have found wide acceptance amongst users because of shortcomings in stability, ease-of-use, receptacle size and ease-of-manufacture. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,600 to Dassler, a cleat attachment system is disclosed in which a snap ring socket is utilized to affix a cleat to the bottom of a shoe.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,267,593 to Turner, a cleat attachment system is disclosed wherein the top of the cleat spike has two extensions forming a rough T-shape out of the spike, where the spike is inserted into a mated receptacle having two grooves to receive the extensions. Upon complete insertion of the spike into a receptacle, the spike is turned until the extensions drop into receiving grooves at the top of the receptacle; a retaining ring is then slid onto the mid-section of the spike, this ring apparently preventing the spike from unseating the extensions from the grooves.
Similarly, in German Patent Application Nos. DE3134817A1 to Sportartikelfabrik Karl Uhl GmbH, and DE3423363A1 to Gebruider Goldschmidt Baubeschlage GmbH, another T-spike design is disclosed in which internal to the mated receptacle are ramping means for engaging and retaining the spike extensions. In the former, a rough interior surface catches the extensions, while in the latter, a sloping interior engages the extensions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,047 to Arff, discloses another T-shape spike in which the skirt is deformed during insertion. Insertion of the spike causes the extensions to go up a ramp and then down a ramp, pulling the spike into the receptacle, and leaving the extensions in a holding area. The skirt is deformed so as to result in a pressure against the socket, the pressure apparently holding the spike from accidentally traveling back up the ramp towards removal.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,934 to Hrivnak, another T-shape spike is disclosed in which the spike column has two indentations. During installation, two spring arms, each positioned perpendicular to the surface of the shoe and parallel to the spike, are pressed in during insertion of the spike, and spring back out to press against the indentations upon complete insertion. Removal of this spike is achieved with a U-shaped tool which slides into the spike receptacle and pushes in the spring arms, thus freeing the spike for removal.